The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology-informed study is to examine the lived experiences of new principals and to understand the experiences that have influenced their role as principal. Phenomenological research is "interested in an analytical and descriptive experience of phenomena by individuals in their everyday world"…

In spring 2024, the authors surveyed 156 American School District Panel member districts about principal pipeline activities across seven domains -- leader standards, principal preparation, selective hiring and placement, on-the-job support and evaluation, principal supervision, leader tracking systems, and systems of support -- to estimate the…

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight how a group of novice principals in Connecticut and New York used relational, dispositional and situational factors to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The study aims to support new principals and educational leaders. Design/methodology/approach: Using Mutch's (2015) dispositional, relational and…

In a context characterised by triple sources of accountability demands, principals in Chile are required to mobilise change to raise performance indicators. School improvement is a complex endeavour--a complexity that is intensified for newly appointed principals, particularly when placed in a high-poverty, ineffective school. This article…

The story of the past 15 years in U.S. education has been one of fundamental reform and transformation. These changes are felt most acutely in the daily lives of teachers and principals and often have lasting effects on the context of the school community. This case study explores the challenges facing a principal when attempting reform and…

This book is designed to provide beginning administrators with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed during their first year, shortening the initial learning curve and helping them make smooth transitions from teaching to their first administrative positions. Too often, beginning administrators undermine their success by making critical…

This review aims at providing a synthesis of the scholarship that has sought to expand the understanding of the early career stage of principalship by documenting the experiences and tasks of new principals (NPs) in the first three years in the post, and their personal and organizational determinants. The synthesis is based on empirical research…

Novice public middle school principals currently face the challenge of navigating internal micropolitical structures while negotiating educational change during a period of decline. This year-long qualitative study detailed the lived experiences of two suburban novice middle school principals as they found themselves leading within a…

In this paper, I use Levin and McEwan's (2001) cost feasibility approach and personnel data obtained from the Superintendent of Public Instruction to estimate the cost of providing coaching support to every newly hired principal in Washington State. Based on this descriptive analysis, I estimate that the cost to provide leadership coaching to…

Mentoring is a widely used method of induction into a variety of professional roles, including educational leadership. However, little scholarly literature has focused on the role of mentoring in the career development of special education administrators. In this examination of 14 such mentoring relationships, the existence of career and…

This article draws on research undertaken in Scotland as part of an International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP). The study is designed to address the question "How useful are principal preparation programmes to novice headteachers?" Drawing on the research data from Scotland, the authors examine how novice headteachers navigate…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the preappointment experiences of early-career headteachers in Tanzania and to discuss implications for postsecondary institutions and ministries of education in East Africa. Research Design: Seven novice headteachers in a suburb of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, completed questionnaires and participated…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Self Assessment of Leadership of Teaching and Learning (SALTAL) inventory, in conditions of repeated administration. Design/methodology/approach: In 2006 and 2007, nearly all of New Zealand's newly-appointed school principals participated in an 18 month induction…

The paper explores the different circumstances of newly appointed principals around the world. It is a literature review that examines articles from both English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries. Being a novice principal is stressful and even traumatic. Principals appear to feel unprepared for their role. The problem most common to all…

This study surveyed pre-service administrative internship students (N = 61) at an urban Midwestern state university to explore factors that influence duties assigned to school counselors at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Results indicated variation in duties assigned by pre-service administrators based on school building level.…